The present invention relates generally to agricultural round balers attached to agricultural tractors or other primary sources or motive power, and more particularly to baler systems and methods for automating the operation of the tractor power take-off (PTO).
Demand for operational efficiency continues to increase in crop packaging, especially in round balers. Efficiency gains in equipment operation and/or improvements in equipment operating lifespan all serve to improve the economics surrounding crop packaging. It is desirable in round baler operation to disengage some or all of the driven components during discrete portions of the total baling cycle. For example, disengaging the drive belts during the bale ejection process reduces damage to the bale surface, reduces wear on the belts, and prevents belt mis-tracking while the tailgate is open. Some balers incorporate de-clutching mechanism for discrete components within the baler. Others may rely on the operator disengaging the tractor PTO while the tailgate is being opened and closed for bale ejection.
Similarly, many PTO-driven machines may require adjustments to vehicle travel speed based on the conditions encountered by the machine. For example, the amount of incoming crop material may overwhelm the capacity of a round baler if the baler is pulled too quickly through a windrow. It is desirable for an operator to be informed of the torque being provided to the implement in order to better manage implement travel speed.
Electronic control systems are being deployed on agricultural equipment with increasing frequency as a means to improve operational efficiency. Many tractors incorporate a data bus which allows various controllers on the tractor to share information on a data network and coordinate control actions. With this in mind, it would be advantageous to provide a method to engage and disengage the tractor power take-off in response to initiating events in a round baler, such as the opening and closing of the tailgate. Further advantages would be realized if additional baler operating conditions could also initiate changes in PTO operation to further minimize the manual actions required to be performed by an operator. Still further advantages would be realized if the improved control system provided sufficient operator notification to reduce inadvertent control actions and thereby improve operating safety. These and other advantages are provided by the draft control system described below.